The Devil's Good Girl-Chapter 308: A lesson learned

As Fil’s eyes glowed blindingly, the council kept their feet on the ground. As the people who were the closest to her, they could feel this immense pressure as if they were at the grace of a god. The ground underneath their feet slowly cracked until the pressure weighing on them created hollows.

Yet, they fought it without letting themselves fall to their knees.

At the same time, another large circle that was drawn around the hill faintly glowed in red. The people remained on the line, knowing those on the other side would also keep themselves steadfast.

This was what Fil wanted; this was how she would fix everything. And thus, they couldn’t be the reason for the foreseeable disaster if they failed her. After all, if Filomena took charge of her body again, this world would be as good as dead.

Soon, their chants grew louder, watching Fil’s body float in the air. Despite the growing pressure from her, they exhausted every bit of her energy and power to continue their chants. Some even started spilling out blood, yet, it didn’t hinder them from continuing.

The ceremony only lasted for a good five minutes, but it was the longest five minutes of their lives.

Once they stopped, Fil’s body landed on the ground.

Thud!

Everyone looked at each other, and the pressure in the air lingered. However, they could feel it subside. Their eyes then slowly veered to her unmoving body on the ground, unsure whether it was safe to approach her or not.

With all the uncertainties, everyone decided to stay on the line. Anything could happen at this point and it was much better to be safe than sorry.

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Meanwhile, in Fil’s conciousness, she opened her eyes only to be met with a pitch-black darkness. In the darkness, she could hear this faint sobs from somewhere. Neither the darkness nor the faint cries faze her.

Fil slowly raised a hand and snapped her finger. Suddenly, a torch appeared out of nowhere. When she took a step, another torch on the side appeared, giving her light on the narrow path.

The sobs grew louder at every step and in no time, Fil stopped.

This time, more torches appeared, creating a circle around the small space. The light granted her the view of Filomena slumped in the middle.

Filomena was crying, clasping a doll close to her chest.

"Hah!" Filomena gasped in between her jagged sobs. "My... my daughter! He killed my daughter — ah!"

The pain in her heart overflowed she had to choose between crying and breathing. Despite sensing the person behind her, she didn’t dare look back.

"Do you see it now?" Fil asked quietly. "Do you now see what will happen, Latrice?"

Latrice, the one who had been sealed within her for the longest time, slowly turned her head to the person standing behind her. Both carried the same face as if they were looking in front of a mirror. The only difference was that Latrice was wretched by the death of Kim, and Filomena bore conflicted expression.

Latrice pressed her lips as tears flowed down her cheeks.

Yes, it was true.

Latrice never regained control over their body. After all, Filomena was powerful and the second Latrice had given up control, there was no turning back. But unlike what one would expect of Filomena, she wasn’t gloating nor was she mocking her.

If anything, she carried a look of sorrow.

"Do you now understand your lesson, Latrice?" Fil whispered. "Do you now understand how cruel it was to be me?"

Latrice swallowed the lump in her throat before she nodded. Seeing this, Fil slowly approached and squatted down in front of her.

"Humans are cruel," said Fil as she wiped Latrice’s tears with the back of her hand. "No matter how much I give, they’ll keep taking and taking. And no matter how much I try, this world will always be against me."

A bitter smile turned up on her face, cupping Latrice’s face. "This world... is meant to hurt me. Until you accept that... until you accept me, I’ll keep living a hellish life just because I am the daughter of evil."

"Filomena. That is also your name, not Latrice," she continued. "Come back to me and make me complete."

Another tear rolled down Latrice’s cheeks before her chapped lips parted. "They hurt me, but you hurt me the most."

"Hurting you hurts me for you and I share the same heart." Fil smiled subtly. "But I would like you to understand my heart, my will, and the truth. This world will keep hurting you and I do not mind that until... Jackson."

Her lips stretched a bit. "He’s quite annoying, isn’t he?"

"You loved him?"

"You would not love him if I didn’t fancy him."

Latrice studied Filomena for a moment before she clasped the hand that was cupping her face. "I understand you now," she whispered. "Now, take away my pain."

"I will."

Fil slowly gazed down at the doll Latrice gave her. They were actually two small dolls with their hands sewn together. One had blonde hair while the other hand had orange hair. Her eyes softened as her lips curled up.

"Don’t worry," she said. "Our children will be fine."

Latrice smiled back subtly and closed her eyes. She let Fil place a hand on her chest, feeling the beat of her heart until she slowly faded. Her shadow slowly moved in Fil’s shadow and Fil closed her eyes, allowing Latrice to return to where she should belong.

As this happened, everything that had happened from the day Latrice had given her control flashed back on her.

*****

[FLASHBACK]

"Filomena, they hurt me."

When those words slipped out of Latrice’s lips, Filomena who was sealed inside was pulled out of it to take change. When she reopened her eyes, she found herself in control once more.

But at this point, Filomena was not interested anymore.

She wasn’t interested in any worldly affairs. The only thing that interested her was to hurt Latrice from within or perhaps, to feel everything that Latrice felt. She didn’t want to bother; she didn’t want to be bothered.

However, even though those were her sentiments, Latrice’s happiness wasn’t the only thing she felt. She also felt Latrice’s pain and agony. She found her foolish, but at the same time, Filomena wouldn’t let anyone trample on her — even though Latrice was simply a part of her, created by the gods so she would be at odds against her own self.

Hence, Filomena met Quentin to teach him a lesson.

She cut off his head and watched it fall over his shoulder. But for some reason, she changed her mind and before Quentin lost his life, she gave him a small fraction of her life.

Squatting down beside Quentin’s body, she tilted her head to the side.

"You..." Filomena whispered. "... do you think getting hurt or killing him will give us a happy ending?"

It made her wonder.

Latrice scurried away just because Quentin went back on his words. She cowered and ran to Filomena just because she couldn’t accept that despite enduring this world and humans, it didn’t go as per her plan.

A glint flickered across Filomena’s eyes as she peeled her eyes from Quentin’s body. "Latrice, do you know why even the gods find me a threat? You are me, but I am never you. Very well. I’ll let you understand that even if I kill this man, nothing will change. We and His Grace will never have a good ending because I... am born to be alone."

"And what you’re doing is simply foolish," she added under her breath. "Wait for it." freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

Filomena pushed herself away and waited for Quentin to wake up from the illusion caused by his revival. When Quentin woke up, Filomena concocted the most wicked lesson Latrice would have to learn as a fraction of Filomena.

A lesson that had stretched over thousands of years just so Latrice would understand the truth about why the gods created her.

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[Present time]

When everything stopped, Jackson and Quentin stared at each other for a moment. They felt this intense pain and heaviness seeping deep into their bones. But most importantly, they also knew that this phenomenon was done by no one but the powerful child of evil.

For Jackson, he thought Filomena had awakened. This was not what they planned.

As for Quentin, he also thought Filomena had returned and he wanted to welcome her.

With this in mind, both of them stopped fighting or wondering. They sprinted down the hill where they could feel the immense power. But just when they caught her tiny figure from afar, Jackson and Quentin both stopped in their tracks.

This time, they couldn’t move nor had they retained their consciousness. After a second, Fil appeared in front of Jackson.

A subtle smile spread across her face, cupping his face. She stood on her toes and planted a soft kiss on his lips. Drawing her head back, she studied his face up close.

"I’m sorry, my love," she whispered. "For letting you suffer just so I can be complete. Now, I’m giving you your life back."

As soon as those words slipped past her lips, the world started turning once again. But this time, on reversed until all the modern infrastructure disappeared and was replaced by fortified castles.